Locations in Europe: London (U.K) Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Storyline
Star(s): Shah Rukh Khan
Songs/Dance/Action: Dance performance in London. Action sequences in India, London, and Dubrovnik.
Indian/ International Crew: Indian and international crew.
Language: Hindi
Director/Producer: Maneesh Sharma/Aditya Chopra (Yashraj)
Line Producer/Executive Producer/ Associate Producer: Aashish Singh (Associate Producer), Chris Martin (Line Producer for London), Boris Dimitrovik (Line Producer for Croatia), Gurpreet Singh (Line Producer for YRF)
Film Location Analysis
By Ranjani Mazumdar
Fan uses foreign locations primarily to focus on Shah Rukh Khan’s global stardom. The film travels from a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Delhi to Bombay to London, to Dubrovnik (Croatia), and back to Delhi. This circular arc, in a sense, follows Khan’s star biography since the actor grew up in Delhi and then went to Bombay. In the 1990s, Khan acquired a major following as India’s most successful and bankable male star abroad. The European segment of the film, which lasts for around 35 minutes, highlights some of these elements. There are key locations that are mobilised to aid in the build-up and crisis of Aryan Khanna’s persona.
In the first segment, we enter London halfway through the film. This entry follows a sequence showing a disillusioned Gaurav burning all the photos of his idol that he had collected over the years. He lights a match to burn this material on the terrace and says to himself, "Fans chase stars. Now a star will chase a fan." The camera zooms out to reveal Delhi’s rooftop neighbourhood against a hazy winter night sky, with the metro faintly visible in the distant background. It is from here that we abruptly cut to high-angle drone shots of London as the camera glides over the river Thames, travelling across to show London’s landmarks: the Tower Bridge, the Business District, well-known buildings like the Gerkhin and the Shard, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Trafalgar Square. This combination of postmodern architecture and buildings like St. Paul’s Cathedral is evocative of London’s aerial views and highlights its place as a major financial and tourist centre. Popular London tourism via ferry rides has guides pointing out these new buildings and their histories. On the soundtrack, we hear a radio programme on Bollywood with the commentator referring to Aryan Khanna’s London show sponsored by Hyundai. We also hear that London is the star’s favourite city.
In the sequence, the excessive force of stardom is showcased spatially via images of a globalised landscape of events, endorsements, performances, electronic billboards, and wax museums. This is the world within which Aryan Khanna moves as a transnational super star, and the mechanisms of his stardom as they connect international space, global entertainment, and a jet-set life are foregrounded. This powerful network operates with a persona, that is marketed for audiences internationally as well as in India—this is the romantic persona of Shah Rukh Khan, played by him in many of his blockbuster films, starting with DDLJ.
It is this entrenched, ubiquitous, and powerful network that begins to crack as Gaurav, now a shadow stalker, starts to eat away at the polished surface. He uses his resemblance to discredit the star with his brash, violent, and unlawful behaviour in public. The battle between the two personas is heightened as we move across the world in a cat-and-mouse game. Following the aerial entry to London, we come down to see Gaurav jogging through the city, and with him, the spectators are taken on a ground-level view of London streets milling with people. Finally, we enter Madam Tussaud’s with Gaurav.
The interior of Madam Tussaud’s is the second important moment in the European segment of the film. This wax museum is a major tourist attraction in London and was founded in 1835 by a sculptor named Mary Tussaud. The museum displays wax replicas of well-known celebrities and historical figures. The first Bollywood actor to have a wax statue in Tussaud's was Amitabh Bachchan, followed by Aishwarya Rai and then Shah Rukh Khan. Today the museum has several Indian film stars, which attests to the importance of London as a major city for Bollywood films. The sequence inside the museum in Fan provides spectators with a view of the replicas of Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai. Gaurav saunters through to Shah Rukh Khan’s replica and starts criticising the statue. Suddenly, the crowd rushes towards Gaurav to demand selfies, mistaking him for the real actor. When museum staff intervenes to say ‘museum property’ cannot be touched, Gaurav insults them. The sequence ends with Gaurav snatching a security guard’s gun and threatening to shoot everyone. This over-the-top arrogant behaviour is a strategy to tarnish Aryan’s star popularity and has the desired effect. Aryan Khanna is arrested and, after some negotiations with a hostile British policeman, is released on bail for a trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Dubrovnik is the destination after London where Gaurav arrives in advance of Aryan. The entry to the city is shot with a drone camera that glides over red-tiled roofs in the old town on a bright sunny day. We then see Gaurav coming down the mediaeval city’s iconic staircase. Aryan is supposed to perform at the wedding of a major businessman’s relative. Like in the Madam Tussauds sequence, Gaurav impersonates Aryan and harasses the bride during a dance. Incensed by this behaviour, the businessman asks Aryan to leave. Outside his car window, Aryan sees a placard baiting him and knows Gaurav is there. Aryan rushes out of the car, and then we move to a frenetic and highly choreographed foot chase in the old town of Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik was selected after Maneesh Sharma visited ten cities to search for an ideal location for a foot chase. The production team finally picked Dubrovnik. The chase in the film is shot both on the ground and on the iconic roof tops of the old town. Dubrovnik has been widely popularised as a tourist destination by the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. The city is usually a popular location for period films largely due to the well-preserved iconic space of the old town. The defensive stone wall surrounding the old town has the Adriatic Sea on one side and the red roof tops on the other. Part of the chase was shot in Dubrovnik and part on a set in Mumbai. The chase is designed to help you navigate the old town, which has stone walls, archways, covered streets, and a variety of Gothic buildings.
The final sequence of the film is staged in Delhi, where Aryan Khanna arrives to meet Gaurav’s family in a bid to enlist their help in trapping the man who has been chipping away at his stardom. In the final moments of the film, a fight between Gaurav and Aryan Khanna is staged on a terrace. The conversation between them is charged. Gaurav had wanted an apology from Aryan which the latter refused consistently. Gaurav’s wish, however, to have his name attached to Aryan’s for life is granted to him as he deliberately jumps over the railing to die. His death makes him famous as the stalker whose name is linked to Aryan's fame. The film's sympathies remain with Gaurav, even as it is critical of his actions.
Tourism
http://www.natgeotraveller.in/london-through-shah-rukh-khans-lens/
